Ameren Missouri must pay $61 million over illegal emissions at Missouri power plant

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) -- Ameren Missouri has been ordered by a court to spend $61 million on projects tied to mitigation around violations of the Clean Air Act at the Rush Island Power Plant near Festus.

The Environmental Protection Agency says that this includes 14 years of unpermitted “excess emissions” of sulfur dioxide, and that the order resolves litigation going back years.

An Ameren spokesperson tells First Alert 4 that there are talks about the future of the Rush Island facility underway. In a statement, Ameren said, "The approved agreement with the Department of Justice fully resolves the case."

Under the order, Ameren Missouri will spend $25 million to provide vouchers for 125,000 eastern Missouri households to buy air filters to improve home air quality. The were “tly proposed” by the utility company, the Sierra Club and the Department of Justice.

Excess SO2 emissions led to increased risk of lung disease, heart disease, and premature death in downwind communities, the EPA says, mainly from harmful particulate matter in the air.

“Eligible residential customers will be hearing directly from Ameren Missouri with information on how to participate in the air filter program,” an Ameren spokesperson told First Alert 4. “Ameren Missouri is prioritizing low-income and disadvantaged communities. At the same time, the company is also working with school districts to implement the second mitigation program related to electric buses.”

Another $36 million will be spent on helping St. Louis area school districts move to zero-emission, all-electric school buses.

If benchmarks in the agreement aren’t met, the EPA says Ameren will have to implement a third project focused on energy efficiency upgrades in the St. Louis metro area.

The EPA had alleged that Ameren had operated the coal-fired power plant in violation of Clean Air Act standards for years, and that it failed to install air emission controls at the Rush Island facility, which is southeast of Festus.

The DOJ filed a complaint against Ameren in 2011 in the Eastern District of Missouri, and in 2017 the court ruled in favor of the DOJ’s claims and that Ameren violated Clean Air. Act.

Five years ago, the Court had ordered Ameren to enter into compliance with Clean Air requirements at Rush Island, and to place controls to lower emissions. There were appeals, and after some time -- Ameren announced it would “shutter the plant and did so by Court order in October 2024,” the EPA says.

In a statement, the EPA Region 7 Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division Director said, “Nothing can undo the widespread harm to human health that Ameren caused by illegally emitting thousands of tons of harmful pollution into the air that St. Louisans breathe every day, but today’s court order requires Ameren to pay for projects that will make that air a little cleaner and provide some measure of justice to the public.”

Avery Martinez covers water, ag & the environment for First Alert 4. He is also a Report for America corps member, as well as a member of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk. His coverage goes from corn farms to hunting concerns, and local water rates to buffalo health.

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